The musings of a writer/artist, who was also a carer, on matters cultural and his poor attempts to get published

Friday, 23 October 2015

Wimpole III The church of St Andrew

Nestling in the purlieu of the house is the parish church of St Andrew. There is no village to be seen. It was shipped south in the 18th century to what is now New Wimpole lining the A603, leaving the parish church like a piece of flotsam, beached. The church as it is now is an almost complete rebuilding of that period (1748-49), replacing a medieval structure with a west tower, and it is a work of Henry Flitcroft. In the 19th century somebody thought it a good idea to gothicize it. Not much of an effort was made, but that was more than enough.
Both inside and out is a straightforward oblong box, but attached to the north side is a tomb chamber, a left over from the Medieval church. I can't think of what else to call it as I doubt it has contained an altar for hundreds of years, and mausoleum sounds too grand. Anyway it contains an array of monuments - apparently the best collection in the county. (Apologies - I only photographed the baroque-y ones.) I think it originally only communicated with the church through a small door, either way the large arched opening dates from 1960 and was designed by Sir Albert Richardson. Some of the windows contain Medieval glass, saved - one would like to think- from the old church. And there is some later glass by William Peckitt of York.